White Widow: A legendary cannabis strain

Perhaps one of the most famous cannabis strains ever. The White Widow is known as a powerful weed plant with resinous buds. The name White Widow can be found in most seed banks, every grower has a White Widow or a cross in their collection. But where does this plant originate from? Who put the White Widow on the market? And is there still an original White Widow strain for sale at all?

History and origin of this famous strain

The White Widow has received many cannabis awards since it was founded in 1994. Whoever finally discovered this world-famous plant is divided on opinions. A man named Ingemar is said to have discovered the White Widow. While others claim that another competent breeder: Scott Blakey, A.K.A. Shantibaba,was the first to discover this type of cannabis. The various claims make the history of this plant complicated and shrouded in misinformation. Ultimately, only one person can get the honor of being the inventor of the White Widow strain.

The opinions are divided, but it seems that Shantibaba was indeed the one who introduced the original White Widow. During the time that Shantibabba was the co-owner of Green House Seeds, he developed several new superior hybrids together with Neville Schoenmaker (founder of the Dutch cannabis seed banks). Some of the genetics used date back to the time that Neville had established a seed bank that was sold to Ben Dronkers in 1991 and continued under the Sensi Seeds name.

When Shantibabba sold his share of The Green House Seed Company to Arjan in 1994, he brought the original White Widow parents with him. Because the name was already used by Green House Seeds, Shantibabba decided to sell its genetics under the name Black Widow. Allegedly he would never share genetics with anyone. This is an indication that Shantibaba is the only person in possession of the original White Widow parents.

Black Widow genetics & heritage

The origin of this famous sativa / indica hybrid consists of a pure Brazilian sativa mother and a South Indian, Keralan hybrid father. The exact origin of the mother plant remains a mystery, but it would probably be a Brazilian sativa country breed, called Manga Rosa, which had a long tradition of spiritual use. He discovered the father of Shantibabba's Black Widow during a trip to India. A man approached him, and after smoking a joint together, he was invited to his farm in the mountains of Kerala. The farmer introduced him to an Indica hybrid that had been refined for many generations to produce very resin-rich buds. After Shanti had selected a batch of seeds, he left for the Netherlands where he subsequently created the first White Widow.

In addition to the White Widow, Shantibaba has also developed various cannabis strains when he was working at Green House Seed Company. The most notable species that Shantibaba has created for Green House are: The original White Widow (Black Widow), Great White Shark, El Nino (La Niña), Neville's Haze, the white species: White Rhino and the Super Silver Haze.

Various claims, one original White Widow!

This is where the history of the plant becomes unclear. Ultimately, there is one person who first linked the name White Widow to a strain. The earliest descriptions of the White Widow were made by Shantibaba himself in 1995, while still working at Green House Seeds. The origin specified for the White Widow is also in accordance with what Shantibaba says. This would indicate that the genetic material used to create the White Widow can be found in the stock of Green House Seed Company. Supplies that Shantibaba and Neville had obtained and refined.

According to an interview in the German cannabis magazine "Grow", a man named Ingemar claims to have invented the real White Widow. Which is distributed via the DeSjamaan seed bank. That this man has green fingers is evident from his creation: Ingemar's Punch (see photo on the right). But whether there is enough evidence to support his claim is the question.

It is said that Ingemar worked on various genetics for the Green House Seed Company. Ingemar claims that the seeds for the White Widow hybrid were accidentally found in a batch of hand-kneaded hashish, after which he subsequently developed this species for 6 years. If this is true, the White Widow would not have been created in 1994 but in 6 years earlier in 1988 (although there is no supporting data for this).

White Widow Cannabis Seeds

Today you can buy White Widow seeds at many cannabis breeders like Sensi Seeds, Royal Queen Seeds, Kera Seeds & many more! Whether all seeds sold under this name are "original" is questionable. If Shantibabba has the only real "White Widow" genetics, which is quite likely, then the seed bank Mr Nice Seeds is the only source for the original "widow" genetics.

In 1996, both Nirvana and the well-known Dutch seed bank Dutch Passion bought a number of Black Widow seeds from Shantibabba. A year later they released their own version White Widow on the market. In our Seedshop you will find a wide selection of White Widow seeds from various breeders. In addition, a lot of crosses with the White Widow have emerged over the years such as: Double White (Sweet Seeds). Crystal White (Spliff Seeds). Shark Attack (Dinafem Seeds). Blue Widow (Dinafem Seeds).